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Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals......

17 replies

moonblushtomato · 20/10/2012 18:22

...thinking of buying it, any good?

OP posts:
ListenToYourHeart · 20/10/2012 22:01

Not sure if the book is any good to be honest however i downlaoded the free iphone app for Jamies 15 or might have been 30 minute meals and that is good.

Catrin · 20/10/2012 23:59

Having flicked through it... no.
I have - and like parts of - the 30 min one. The 15 min one seems to be a lot of salads. Plus, each to one's own, but am not convinced you can do pork in 15 mins.
Nothing is revolutionary, or particularly exciting. Batch cook and defrost stuff, Catrin's 15 min meals tip.

ThatVikRinA22 · 21/10/2012 00:09

was thinking of getting this one.... will watch with interest. i love the 30 min meals one.

dreamingofsun · 21/10/2012 10:38

vicar - what do you like in the 30 min one? i'm struggling with it a bit.

Ruffello · 21/10/2012 10:48

I'm also a big fan of his 30 mins meals, but unsure about 15 mins. The TV series that accompanies the book starts on Monday. Will wait and see..

Ruffello · 21/10/2012 10:53

Several of his 30 min meals are now family staples here - piri piri chicken with sweet potato mash and Jools pregnant pasta are both awesome!

qazxc · 21/10/2012 15:45

Dp loves the chicken pie. it is a staple in our house.
Jools pregnant pasta and the satay chicken are also very good.
However i can never get them done in 30 mins.

qazxc · 21/10/2012 15:46

Sorry i should say that the above are in the 30min meals. I don't know about the 15 min , that's why I'm lurking.

RoobyMurray · 21/10/2012 15:49

I have it, and while I think 20-30 minutes is more realistic, I do like it.

I made mustard lamb with irish mash and watercress/apple/celery salad. It was FIT!

The speed thing is helped by using the food processer to slice/chop. But then it's more washing up so

the mash was done by using the slicer fitting on the food processor to slice potatoes and leeks, then they cooked in less than five minutes. The mash was a bit watery though as it cooked so fast I over cooked it.

TheArmadillo · 21/10/2012 15:58

I usually hate Jamie Oliver books as his recipes are dull and uninspired basic thrown together crap (I can do that on my own without a cookbook).

Am very impressed by this one. I will not cook them in 15 mins as it mostly requires flattening or dicing up the meat and frying it, whereas I prefer to take longer and stick it in the oven. Also he uses the microwave rice and I have the time to cook normal rice. He puts a yoghurt dip with practically every meal and this is a family of yoghurt haters so will skip that part.

As with all JO recipes you need to use common sense/experience to adjust some of the amounts - if it looks wrong it probably is, but nothing major. His love of excessive amounts of olive oil is almost more than his passion for yoghurt with every meal. Everything is under spiced (for my tastes anyway).

We do eat a lot of meat with spices/sauce, salad and rice and so this is a few new ideas on that. As someone says it is a lot of salad so if that's not your idea of a good meal then I would skip it.

Recipes are done in conjunction with nutritionist (though I doubt the calorie counts are accurate as usual JO inaccurate measures of 'splashes' and pinches would make it almost impossible) so are not too bad health wise especially if you skip the fried everything and take longer to bake.

Its nothing revolutionary and I would allow 20-30mins for each meal with the adaptations I make, but I was surprised how quick they were to cook and actually tasty. Family weeknight suppers, reasonably tasty, won't take too long. I like them for days I am working.

There is nothing, however in this book to convince me that JO is actually a professional chef or make me want to eat at one of his restaurants. I would not serve the food at dinner parties either.

ThatVikRinA22 · 21/10/2012 16:07

dreaming i do lots out of the 30 min book - the chicken pie, the steak sandwich, the pasta ones, the pork chops, the tuna spagetti, the sausage casoulet, the minced beef hash, the risotto, the pizza, and we have attempted the curry,....all absolutely yummy. i always do the full thing with all the side dishes etc. Its a bit of a faff to start with but you do get faster, and i tend to do them when i know DH is on hand to help.

dreamingofsun · 21/10/2012 17:46

thanks vicar. i think i'll dig it out from the cupboard and try a few more

moonblushtomato · 24/10/2012 18:58

Sounds like the 30 minute version is the better option......shame its almost twice the price at the mo!

OP posts:
TobyLerone · 24/10/2012 19:01

I have it. There are a good few nice recipes.

Ruffello · 26/10/2012 18:06

I'm enjoying the TV series - some great looking dishes - but what is it with serving everything on wooden boards! I guess he's trying to create a rustic retro vibe for TV, but it looks pretty unhygienic to me!

TheArmadillo · 26/10/2012 18:35

there's loads about the bloody wooden boards in the book. Apparently no one should have their own plate and you should all eat from the shared board in the middle or you don't really love your family or some such shit Hmm

If you did that in this house there would be war, bloodshed, someone would probably lose an eye, definitely a limb.

LowLevelWhinging · 26/10/2012 20:46

oh yes, the bloody boards!

his peas were rolling all over the place the other day.

WRONG.

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